Mosul: Iraqi forces backed by Kurdish peshmerga fighters thwarted an attack by Islamic State (IS) militants on a strategic Kurdish-controlled area near the Iraqi city of Mosul and killed 11 jihadis Tuesday.

The Mayor of Iraq`s Makhmour district, Ibrahim Sheikhala told EFE that the extremists launched an offensive Monday night to seize control of Sultan Abdullah town, triggering fierce fighting that lasted until early Tuesday.

The clash led to the death of 11 IS and two peshmerga fighters and a foreigner. Seven Kurdish militiamen were wounded and transferred to a hospital in Erbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

Makhmour, located 81 km south of Mosul, fell in the hands of the IS in August, but the peshmerga managed to regain control with the help of airstrikes by the US-led coalition.